The Theft of Sunshine and its Return
by moonlit flower
Summary: Thunder brings up bad memories for Jou. It's a good thing Kaiba's there to soothe them in his dysfunctional, one-track-minded Kaiba-way. Puppyshipping. KaiJou. Written for roli armadillo on lj.


Pairing(s): Kaijou,puppyshipping, the one where the brunette and the blond get it on.  
Rating: PG-13  
Warnings: Canon fatherly neglect and mention of gang violence.  
Summary: Reward!drabble to **roli_amaradillo** on lj. (As it is 2000 words+, it is kinda way past a drabble. Just goes to show that with hard work and determination, anyone can become a 2000+ word fic.) Thunder brings up bad memories for Jou. It's a good thing Kaiba's there to soothe them in his dysfunctional, one-track-minded Kaiba-way.  
Prompt:"...fluff and thunder and kaiba singing you are my sunshine to a scared joey."

By the way, I ran over this once for a quick grammar check since I felt I had already held this fic captive too long. If anything's off, please comment. I won't bite.

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The mansion was cold, dark in the evening. And in the middle of a storm, Jou could watch it gather rain clouds around it like the old ladies would gather their shawls around their shoulders. Every now and then lightening punched through; illuminating the silent living room where Jou sat huddled by the window.  
The storm made the mansion cold, but the heater in the house boasted so many buttons and dials that after the blond succeeded in lowering the temperature ten more degrees, he'd slammed the damn thing off and stormed away himself.

Kaiba had been called away from their vacation by a sudden bout of uncertainty in one of his associates. The call had come while they were snuggled in the breakfast nook, feeding each other. Jou could still hear his dragon curse out the man's incompetence before swirling out in a power suit and a promise to come back later that night.  
And he didn't mind, really. It all came part and parcel with having Seto Kaiba as a lover. Wasn't exactly like he was going to deny Kaiba part of his reason for getting up in the morning.

All during the day, the blond tried to keep his mind on household chores and not on missing his lover. That old storybook image of a dog pining at the window for his master wasn't lost on him. It wasn't lost because it was right there, picking at his brain. Reminding him that the man who tenderly mapped his body at night was also the man that, a month before, would tear him apart verbally any time he could.

So, Jou tried to stay away from doing mutt-like things. After all, their relationship was kinda new. And while he didn't doubt Seto's feelings, it was too much to ask for Kaiba to pass up a good dog joke if it was pretty much served up to the guy. He was only human, right?

But Jou hadn't so much as picked up a book than he set it down to plug in a video game which he gave up for a brainless sitcom on TV.  
All the while, his eye would flicker to the door.

'Kaiba's a big boy. He can take care a himself.', he thought, shaking off the images of Kaiba trapped in another video game or mangled in a car accident.  
And Jou would settle back into the couch not half-convinced.

Finally, he gave up, cut off the TV in the middle of another joke and slinked off to the window.  
Since the blonde was used to lounging around only by the TV's light, the room fell into shadows once he switched off his programming.  
Jou leaned his head against the cool windowpane.

That's when it started. It had been drowned out by the sound of the TV before. Short booms like the sound of fists pounding on the mansion's roof or the wooden door to an apartment shared by a boy and his alcoholic father.

It made Jou freeze where he sat. Feel the familiar terror creep along his spine where it paralyzed his feet and made his hands grab white-knuckled fistfuls of the chair.

It was stupid, because it was thunder. Even Jou could figure out that thunder wasn't the fists of bill collectors or gangs hired to shake out a few pennies.  
It was that thing that happened in the air because of some electrical shit rubbing against each other. Or something.  
Not the slap of sneakers on pavement as a herd of gang members caught a new inductee to their rival gang on their turf.

Jou drew himself into a ball on the seat. That was so the kicks would land on his back rather than his vulnerable squishy organs. Another clap of thunder sounded out.  
This one reminded him of the plank they broke across his back. Sure, the wood was kind of thin, but Jou's fifteen-year-old body had been pretty thin too.  
Didn't stop them from knocking his brain loose with a chair leg they found in the dumpster. Rained that day too.  
The thunder rhymed in time with each blossom of pain against the back of his eyes.

And now the thunder was getting louder, closer. Memories of past fights and low down, unfair- like tying someone up and whaling on them till they pissed blood- beatings kept Jou silent. Head down.

Lost in his memories, the blond didn't notice the door open. He didn't notice the worried, dripping man who rushed out of his car, forgetting his umbrella in his haste, because all the lights in his mansion were out. His home, which should have held at least one warm light and one warm, welcoming puppy, since Mokuba was still attending a small convention that coincided, strangely, with the couple's vacation time.

"Jou?", Kaiba cried out framed in the doorway. When no answering bark came, he strode quickly along before abandoning all pretenses and running down the halls.  
There was no one in the foyer, bathroom or kitchen. And damn it, Jou knew he was coming back tonight. Kaiba's mind raced with possibilities.  
His pup had said he was fine with Kaiba needing to be called away. But then, other people- his lover _not_ excepted- were prone to being indecisive, emotional idiots who decide to run away from the best things that have ever been offered them. In the middle of a panic, a certain scenario involving runaway pups rose in the brunette's mind.

But the shadow of someone sitting next to the window stopped that thought in its tracks. Previously tense shoulders automatically slackened. The puppy had just fallen asleep waiting up for his dragon.

And a smile teased Kaiba's lips at using their pet names for each other. Nothing too sappy- they _were_ men-, but the names meant something.  
Still half-amused at his pup's lack of stamina, Kaiba walked over, laid a hand on the chair and knelt to wake the other man.

A flash of lightening revealed eyes squeezed tightly shut and a trembling young man on that seat. His knees were drawn tight against his chest and his arms were wrapped protectively around him. Something was wrong. Obviously.

"Jou-…Katsuya?" Kaiba swallowed, not entirely sure what to say. If it were Mokuba curled up like this, Kaiba would come over and place a comforting hand on his little brother's head. Mokuba always looked up and managed a smile for him. To tell him that he could handle this.

Jou didn't respond when Kaiba touched him. It didn't deter the other man in the slightest. Kaiba shifted Jou until the blond lay across his lap on that seat.  
And, oh, God, he was so cold to the touch.

'How long had Jou been laying like this?', Kaiba worried. His hand smoothed a few yellow strands back into place and forgot to stop.

"Pup?" Kaiba tried again. This time he could feel awareness creep back into his lover as the blonde slowly uncurled in his arms. The rocky street alley fading beneath him into his lover's lap.

"Seto? Don't call me that.", Jou muttered, but it wasn't said with half its usual intensity.

"What did you think you were doing sitting in the dark? I can afford to pay the electrical bills, you know."

It was Kaiba's way of getting a hold on situations out of his control. The blond knew this, but Jou just shrugged his shoulders.  
He didn't want to go into this. Ever. A lie on his lips, Jou began."I-"

The thunder rumbled so close to the mansion that it felt like it shook the windows.  
Jou clammed up tight. His back went ramrod straight and the hand holding Kaiba's gripped it with frightening intensity or frightened intensity.

The brown-haired man frowned. Evidently his pup didn't like thunder, but something about the fear worried at his brain. After all, Jou had been part of the streets since he was old enough to steal. After an initial bout of dramatic flailing, the blonde had faced down monsters liable to eat thunder with unshakeable courage. This. This was less like the scrambling, shocked Jou or even the morose Jou his friends talked about when he faced down zombies in Duelist Kingdom.

This felt more like the small, adopted boy the first time his father beat him using the fireplace poker in this very room. Kaiba crushed the other man to his chest because if he didn't he may have to throw a lamp or fire someone. It was rough enough going through that time once, Kaiba didn't need to relive it a second time. If it weren't for Mokuba who led him up to his bed, tucked him in and sang along with the radio, Kaiba didn't think he could have gotten through it the first time.

And Jou never had a Mokuba. Mind made up, the brunette scooped up his pup and carried him up to their room.  
Kaiba lowered the blond onto their bed after wrestling up the stairs and down the hall. He bundled them up as Jou watched with confused eyes.

A slim hand switched the radio on to a soothing station Mokuba used to use to get to sleep. The thunder still roared, but it sounder more accepting now.  
Like it was the slow sleepy rumble. Several songs passed with Kaiba humming along and cradling the gradually unwinding boy.

The brown haired man hummed a few more bars before breaking into a soft murmur with the song.  
There was silence for a while. Relaxation before his pup put up a wiggle that was part jittery anxiety and part happiness.

Amused brown eyes smiled at him out of fading fears. "I don't suppose ya realize what you're singing?", Jou whispered.

They both fell silent, listened for a moment and looked at each other.

"My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey.", the radio sang.

He could feel it building in his lungs, though he knew he really shouldn't. Kaiba was embarrassed enough at getting caught crooning soppy love songs, but it really was too much.  
It erupted out of his mouth as a choked sputter. And inevitably Jou burst out laughing while a red flush came over Kaiba's face.  
But the blond only laughed harder as his lover grew redder. He rolled across the bed, tears leaking from his eyes, arms keeping his sides from splitting.  
After an intense moody evening, uncontrollable laughter was the only way to go.

Kaiba, finally, pinned the shaking man down and threatened to throttle the laughter out of Jou. Which didn't really help, because the sight of a tomato-faced Seto making affronted growl-noises set Jou off onto another wild spasm in Kaiba's arms.

Resigned, the red-faced man rode out Jou's chuckles with is face buried in the blond's chest. When the blond's chuckles subsided till they were spaced out a minute apiece, Kaiba tentatively laid them back onto the bed. He cupped Jou's face toward him as Jou luxuriated in a good laugh. He nipped at Jou's lips in warning before indulging in a soft kiss that spoke tenderness. They parted slowly, reluctantly and Seto leaned back to search his lover's eyes.

"Do you want to tell me about what set off tonight, now?", Seto asked. The bed was warm and welcoming but Jou didn't want to let his night terrors into this memory. He ducked his head and turned away.

"I don't want to talk about it tonight, Seto. Let's just…" Jou curled up against the length of Kaiba's body. A hand on his chest stroked the well-maintained muscles there. He felt warm, solidly reassuring and smelled like papers and expensive cologne. The exact opposite of hard living and street gangs.

In turn, the brunette stroked his pup's hair. They wouldn't be talking about it today, but when their bond grew stronger. Kaiba tugged Jou up, closer, resting his chin possessively in the crook of his neck.

"Sleep, pup. I'll be here when you wake up.", he murmured against lightly tanned skin. The two drifted slowly off while outside the storm rained itself out and the moon broke the clouds. After a few hours, the sun came back to a wetter, but cleaner world.

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My first foray into the Yugi-oh written fandom. Hope my Seto was semi-believable. Also, the reason why sometimes it's Kaiba and sometimes it's Seto depends on how Kaiba feels. In intense emotion or vulnerability, I think it'd be Seto. This is just in case anyone's wondering.

-moonlit flower


End file.
